The Two Foundations, Part 3 — A ‘Time With God’ Devotion

All this week, John North takes us through the story of the wise and foolish builders, as shared by Jesus.

Matthew 7:24-29 show us Jesus telling a parable about the difference between a wise and foolish builder was in where they placed their foundation.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

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Transcript

Good morning,

All this week we’re talking about the two foundations you can build your life on.

And we’re reading a story that Jesus told – really a word picture that Jesus gave His followers that has such powerful application to our lives. I want to read it to you again now. Sometimes when I read this, it makes me think of the story of the three little pigs and the wolf blowing on their house and it falling down, but it’s a little bit different than that. So listen, Jesus said, one then who hears these words of mine and does them – it will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it has been founded on the rock.

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain fell, and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell and great was the fall of it.

Well, let’s think about this. Two foundations. The good foundation is acting on God’s Word. Acting on God’s Word, you see what Jesus said. Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Now knowing God’s Word is not a solid foundation against the storms of life. There are so many people who go to church all the time.

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They like to listen to good teaching of the Bible. They like to do Bible study. They like to talk about what they’re learning or have theological discussions with their friends, all of these things, and yet they are not building their lives on a solid foundation because they’re not acting on what they’re listening to. They’re not saying yes to God. They haven’t come to God and said – I trust you not just with my soul but with my life.

And I’m going to choose whatever you lead me to do. I’m going to say yes to you. When you come to God recognising His rightful place in your life, and you in a spiritual sense get on your knees in front of him and say, You’re my God. You have the right to my life, and you begin building your life on what God is teaching you from His Word. Then you’re building your house on the rock.

Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them.

Every day you read God’s word, you understand God a little bit better, and as you act on what you read or what you hear taught, those principles from God’s Word go down deep into your life and become a foundation for you.

You see then God responding to your obedience to Him and getting involved in your life, and it just leaves you with this unshakable confidence that God is dependable.

That His Word is true and that foundation is like a rock in your life. The more you build up that experience of the truth of God’s Word, the stronger your foundation is when the storms of life come. And let me tell you, they will come. They will come.

I remember going to the doctor quite a few years ago, just for a free skin check before a trip that I had to America. My first time I’d ever gone for a skin check.

And the doctor looked over my whole body carefully, you know, even through my hair, you know, and all over. I’m down to my undies, and he’s looking over my body. The last place he looked was my back, and he’s working his way down my back, and then suddenly there was a long pause.

And he said, I am very unhappy with what I see here.

And he said, you have a very significant melanoma on your back. I said, well, I’m going to America, I’ll be back in 5 weeks, I’ll deal with it then. He said, no, you’re not going to America.

And that led to a very stressful time in my life as I came to grips with my mortality, my young children, what was going to happen, and God walked with me through that.

You also need a foundation in your life when the storms of life come.

I’m John North.